


(Another) new beginning

by Lucarn



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Game: Kingdom Hearts III, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts III, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts χ
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-11-12 09:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18008537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucarn/pseuds/Lucarn
Summary: "So, here we are."Their features were still familiar to each other. More than familiar, as they had gotten to know each other twice in their lifetimes. Yet, with their memories regained, they seized each other up as if something had changed."Wanna talk, loser? The Fountain Plaza is as good as any place to catch up."





	1. Re:Start

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Chain of Memories - Princess of Light Remix-](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16771975) by [greeneggs101](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneggs101/pseuds/greeneggs101). 



> Spoilers for events in Kingdom Hearts χ + Unchained, Kingdom Hearts χ Union, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts 3.

"So, here we are."

Their features were still familiar to each other. More than familiar, as they had gotten to know each other twice in their lifetimes. Yet, with their memories regained, they seized each other up as if something had changed. Maybe it had - they had landed in this town, this world, after all, whole once more when they used to reject the idea. Life sometimes work in strange (and bitter) ways. Just look at Castle Oblivion and whom it had guarded.

"Wanna talk, loser? The Fountain Plaza is as good as any place to catch up. Not that you've got anything else to do at the moment." His mouth twitched. 

"As abrasive as ever. What should I call you...?"

"Elrena. And no, the abrasiveness isn't new. It just got... worse. Or I became more outspoken in my opinion, take your pick." Elrena crossed her arms as she squinted at him. Their soles clicked on the cobbled path. "Are you Lauriam? You wear the same clothes as the last time I saw him. Saw you?"

"I am _again_ , but I understand your confusion. Losing my heart and only regaining part of it changed me, as did my lack of memories." He whispered the next part. "You could say that Marluxia was a different person."

"Huh. Sounds familiar."


	2. Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are two conversations.
> 
> The second one and the following ones will hurt.

It was easy to fall back into a routine. They bickered, just like they always did (had done), about this, about that-

_“Still, I can’t believe you woke almost in the same outfit! You gained like fifteen centimeters.”_

_“It’s probably one of the rules of this world. But it still suits me so I decided to keep it. You, on the other hand, divested yourself entirely of your old clothes.”_

_She grinned and hopped on a streetlamp’s base. Grabbing the shaft, she twirled around with her free arm outstretched, showing off._

_“Like it? My old stuff was fine, but I felt like a school girl so I got an update.” She hadn’t been a child for many years even before she lost her memories._

_Not that she felt much like an adult either. She had never truly connected to her experiences during the last years because she repressed her heart. Not until Castle Oblivion and-_

_Well._

_“Did you rob somebody to attain this ‘update’, my dear?” The ass was smirking. She flipped him off with a huff._

_“Oh please, I don’t need to hurt some poor sod when I have my skill set. There’s a lot of machines and lights running here which need electricity. The woman in charge of the town generators approached me when she saw me zap some Heartless and hired me asap to help power everything. The pay is queenly~ But don’t feel too bad, I’m gonna invite you for lunch once or twice.”_

\- but Elrena was stalling. Sure, they were moving to the plaza but walked at a snail’s pace. Lauriam was stalling, too, not once speaking up about going faster. He had brought up his own share of mundane topics, like what he found as a job in the last days-

_“Gardening is so boring.”_

-and nothing about Before. Either kind of Before.

It was so easy to fall back into a routine. Elrena felt untethered, like something would fall and crash. Instead, she jumped to his side where he had barely ambled ahead, not yet at the alley’s mouth. It couldn’t go on forever.

And she hated feeling like a coward. What happened wouldn’t go away just because they avoided it, so she grabbed his sleeve to get his attention. She tried for a smirk to match his, because that was how their friendship rolled (had they ever been friends? how had they stayed friends?) - but when their eyes met, it fell away from their faces.

-

Elrena brushed her fingers across the basin. The stone was warm although she knew that no sun had ever shone on it. She watched the plaza from her seat, with the countless street lamps and bright advertisements as their only companions. Traverse Town was the world steeped in constant night, the Clock showing the pass of time instead of the states of daylight, but even so the inhabitants had found their own rhythm of life.

She had started to take walks after her shift finished, when most of the town went to sleep. She enjoyed the solitude – no obligation to interact with anybody, nobody to disturb her when she worked to untangle her thoughts and feelings, no tossing and turning on her bed where she was alone.

Water gurgled. A warm breeze ran through, rustling the bushes standing outside that new restaurant. Birds chirped somewhere. If Elrena were to close her eyes, she would feel like it was night in…

“This place makes me feel nostalgic, back when were in the Dandelions.”

Elrena snorted.

“Why do you think I chose the Fountain Plaza? It's like part of Daybreak Town formed this world, and the other made Twilight Town. Traverse Town had to be extra with the name."

“It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case. Remnants of lost worlds tend to gather here with their surviving inhabitants.” Lauriam frowned. “But I’ve never seen this kind of architecture in any of the worlds I used visit. Or at least… I can’t remember them.”

The tension rocketed at once. She played with her bangs, staring up at the stars. He was staring down onto his boots.

“Do you remember… how we arrived here, in the future? Or how we lost our hearts?”

She chuckled mirthlessly. Wasn’t that the one million munny question? How had they ended up in this entire mess? Losing their hearts, becoming Nobodies, joining the Organisation, and everything that followed after.

Then she pressed her hand against her mouth. The cackles started from nowhere and everywhere because her feelings were running all over the place and she had no idea what else to do but to stifle her noise. She couldn’t care less if she woke somebody up, but she didn’t want to deal with anybody else at the moment. Tears burned threateningly in her eyes- tears she would allow only Lauriam to see. She’d fry anybody else just like she had fried those Heartless, she swore it.

“No fucking clue. I remembered some more when I first saw you here, but those memories? Those are still gone.” Like Chirithy was still gone. Like Strelitzia was still gone.

Elrena tasted blood. Red trickled from the thick flesh of her thumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview of the next chapter (changes might happen, but the sentiments will appear):
> 
> _"Ugh, I can't believe that I've got these things in common with Sora."_
> 
> And:
> 
> _"In hindsight, our plan was doomed to failure from the start. It involved too many moving pieces with their own agenda. Xemnas had noted our dissent or else he would have never sent Axel to Castle Oblivion. But... I knew that. I knew that we were acting too reckless, that the situation was going out of control. And yet I didn't stop either you or myself. That should have been the one thing making me realize that our other plan had failed."_
> 
> _He pressed his hand over his chest._
> 
> _"My heart had already started to return, however small then."_


	3. Tension Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both machinery and people can have exposed live wires.

Two sensations were Elrena’s constant companions these days.

In her stomach roiled a fire, magma, spitting, moving. Tiny firy rocks crashed against each other, creating friction, creating electricity. It zapped through her veins, made her gnash her teeth, vibrated in her arms like trapped insects.

Elrena snapped her fingers.

Lightning zapped from the tips, shooting forward like boneless arms. They hissed as they grounded into the pikes of metal. Lights glowed up in panels one by one on the machinery. The batteries filled up, gobbling down the energy, and what overflowed rushed elsewhere. Pumps woke up with a low hum as parts began moving, undulating, rolling. 

She let her arms fell to her side. She exhaled, slowly centering himself. The last of dusk was fading through the windows. Most other workers at the plant had left, leaving the night shift as well as the skeleton crew to monitor. She was in her shift responsible for the hydraulic system that provided Traverse Town’s innermost district with water, a new machine they had built with help of Radiant Garden and was now in its testing phase. If it held up to the tests, the old pumps would be replaced one by one with this model.

Monitoring the readings and jotting down her observations were easy enough after helping Vexen with the Replica Program, short as Larx- her stint had been, and after some instructions from the senior plant workers. The numbers were different but something about the process was similar. 

Closing the door of the test room, she strode into the office where she sank into her chair. She propped up her feet on the edge of the console, eyes on the various monitors, some displaying readings, some different angles of the video feed. She rummaged in her duffel to pull out a can of coffee that she downed halfway in one gulp. She burped.

One of the perps of working alone. Nobody to annoy or to annoy you in turn.

She still wasn’t very good with people. As loud as she tended to be when voicing her thoughts, the noise of others overwhelmed her. Annoyed her – which often led to her verbally snapping at people.

In hindsight, she had already been angry back before she lost her memories. Not much, not always, but that was why she preferred to be on her own. Most other people just vexed her. She got along only with few of even her own Union, not speaking of any of the others.

But all but one of those she cared for vanished, and the one who was here…

Elrena breathed heavily. It would work out. She had the address of the place where he worked. Just one district away, a flower and gardening shop - he probably had decorated his entire apartment with plants by now -, a short walk away from where she lived. Nothing stopped her. She had no obligations during the daytime hours.

One week gone and she had yet to do so. Sparks itched in her finger tips. Below her heart, the thing in her stomach fed them, angry at her cowardice.

He hadn't come to see her either. At least none of her co-workers had mentioned a flower-obsessed giant with pink hair turning up at the plant. (HAH.)

Damn it. She pinched the bridge of her nose. She never wanted to be a Nobody again. That didn't change that her feeling sometimes were assholes that needed a kick or several. 

At least her headache was lessening because of the sweet, sweet caffeine coursing through her. The monitors cleared up before her eyes. She sipped a bit more. She didn't know what was in this coffee, but some magic probably enhanced the effects. Did caffeine hit that fast? Shrugging, she chugged the dregs down. She crashed the empty can in her hand and tossed it towards the rubbish bin in the corner of the office. It just hit the top of her last take-out box before it nosely clattered to the floor next to the bin.

"Oi." Somebody called. Elrena vaguely flipped her middle-finger behind her.

 _"What."_ The back of the chair dipped down and back until her head was hanging off of the backrest's top, staring at the open door. She met Mina's eyes up-side down rolling at her. The tension left and she smirked.

"Yo. What are you still doing here?"

"Just wanted to see if you're still awake."

Mina smiled back, cocking her hips. She floated like an pretty and unfairly tall tower floating down from the floor. Why did all the people Elrena know have to be so tall?

"I sure am, as you can see." The coffee sloshed in the can as she twisted her wrist. "And you're distracting me. Shoo, go home, your shift is over, Ms Workaholic."

"Yeah yeah, I'm on my way already. Just thought to say goodnight since I saw your door open."

With practiced motions, Mina gathered all of her hair and twisted it into a bun, securing it with a hair pin. Elrena's eyes track the well-formed shape of her arms. "The invitation for the barbeque at my place tomorrow still stands if you're interested."

The second sensation and companion's of Elrena made itself known more strongly now. Her heart beat nearly out of her chest, from where the invisible vice was squeezing her as she denied.

"Ehh, thanks but no thanks." She waved her hand in a so-and-so motion- almost freezing. She did her best to swallow down on the sour fluid flooding up because of course the stupid coffee had to act up now, when she usually drank ten cans or cups per day without problem.

 _Stupid idea to stay upside down for so long._ Elrena's only saving grace was that the monitors and the light from the corridor offered only little illumination. It hid the heat crawling into her face. She nearly smacked her face at the obvious solution. She easily propelled her upper body forward, sitting upright, which thankfully helped force down the fluid back into her stomach. She swiveled around on the chair, smirk back on her face. 

"It's not my thing, and I'll not change my mind about it. You and your brother go have fun with smelling like roasted chicken. I'm gonna read a book." She blew the strands of her out of her face as it tickled her nose. Mina gave her a look. Or rather, it was _the look_. Elrena glared back, blue eyes on brown, crossing her arms. Eventually Mina snorted.

"If you say so." Her tone clearly said, _Don't think you're off the hook._ "But don't worry, I'll just bring the leftovers, salad and vegetables included. You'll have something proper to eat for once, you don't have to cook, and you won't smell like chicken."

"Oi, I'm eating plenty and good." A beautiful, broad eyebrow rose. Mina's eyes flitted towards the rubbish bin barely containing the mountain of empty take-out boxes. Her gaze jumped towards the half-full box on the floor next to the console, forgotten when Elrena had wolfed the selfmade meat pie Hoshi, Mina's little brother, had sent along his sister for sampling. Both were fantastic cooks who liked to share their dishes and receive feedback on how to improve. Elrena flushed, this time unable to hide, and coughed into her first, ignoring the roiling in her stomach.

"Alright, fine, leftovers it is." So smooth, Elrena. 

They bade each other goodnight after she diverted the topic with reminding her once more that her shift was over-

_"Alright, no reason to threaten me with the boss-woman going motherhen on me!"_

The corridor falling dark as she shut down the light behind. Elrena had turned back to the monitors as Mina left, but as soon as she heard her steps farther away, she had looked over her shoulder, watching the open door as if her co-worker would return.

Her hand clenched tight onto the console's edge, white-knuckled. Her stomach sparked so much that the electricity shot up her arms again.

**Author's Note:**

> This small story was inspired by a gripping conversation with @greeneggs101, starting from a conversation in greeneggs101's _Chain of Memories - Princess of Light Remix-_ , an AU where a small change leads to Kairi and Sora swapping roles. I love the series so much, it gives Kairi the spotlight she deserves, and while the basic plot remains the same, the divergences pick up in speed to some delightful plot twists.
> 
> \---
> 
> Preview of the next chapter:
> 
> _"Why do you think I chose the Fountain Plaza? It's like part of Daybreak Town formed this world, and the other made Twilight Town."_


End file.
